There are no signs that qualified investors are tiring of offerings on Nomu, the Tadawul’s regulation-light parallel market for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Shares of Riyadh Steel rose 3% in their first day of trading on Nomu yesterday, closing at SAR 17.5 a piece. The steel manufacturer listed 50 mn shares, good for a 20% stake.

Armah Sports made its SAE 137 mn debut on the parallel market Nomu on Thursday, with its shares closing up 1.8% at SAR 28.5 a piece. The company listed nearly 5 mn shares, good for a 15% stake. Saudi Fransi Capital quarterbacked the transaction as financial advisor, lead manager and bookrunner, STAT acted as legal counsel, PwC and Bakertilly were auditors, while Portas acted as market consultant, according to the prospectus (pdf).

Nomu in numbers: With Armah’s listing, the number of Nomu-listed companies has gone up to a total of 76, with 84% of them debuting only since January 2022, according to Argaam.

Other Nomu listings in the pipeline:

  • NUPCO, Saudi’s largest medical procurement firm;
  • View United Real Estate Development (prospectus, pdf).

Why it matters: The parallel market has been on a tear this fall, seeing high demand from qualified investors for a run of IPOs. Yes, they’re smaller. And yes, they’re open only to qualified investors. But the thesis is that Nomu companies will learn the ins and outs of being a public institution as the best of them grow — and ultimately make the leap to the main market, as the parent company of homegrown burger chain Burgerizzr did last month and as Riyadh Cement will do tomorrow.

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